The Jacob Barnet affair occurred in 1612 when a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish teacher by the name of Jacob Barnet was arrested and imprisoned by officials of the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

for changing his mind about being

baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

Background

Throughout the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and up until the 1850s the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

required all students and the faculty staff to be

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

; following the English Reformation, they were required to be members of the established church (the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

). In addition, Edward I's ban on Jews living in England remained in force until Cromwell overturned it. Nevertheless, a few visiting Jewish Hebrew teachers taught students at the university privately, or worked in the Bodleian Library on Hebrew manuscripts. In 1609, the French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

scholar

Isaac Casaubon Isaac Casaubon (; ; 18 February 1559 – 1 July 1614) was a classical scholar and philologist, first in France and then later in England. His son Méric Casaubon was also a classical scholar. Life Early life He was born in Geneva to two Fr ...

invited Jacob Barnet, an Italian Jew, to his home in Drury Lane, London. During their time together, they discussed Jewish texts on various topics, and Barnet proved to Casaubon that Jesus had been buried in accordance with standard Jewish burial practice rather than (as argued by

Cardinal Baronio Cesare Baronio (as an author also known as Caesar Baronius; 30 August 1538 – 30 June 1607) was an Italian cardinal and historian of the Catholic Church. His best-known works are his ''Annales Ecclesiastici'' ("Ecclesiastical Annals"), whi ...

) in a new way that became the method of Catholic burial. Casaubon thereafter employed Barnet as his secretary, and in 1610 the two of them came to Oxford.

Oxford

Barnet's personal qualities, as well as his erudition, meant that he was liked and respected by scholars at the university. While at Oxford, he decided to be baptised as a Christian, and told Casaubon of his decision; Casaubon told the

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

, who (like other members of the university) was pleased with Barnet's decision. Preparations were made for Barnet to be baptised at a grand service in the

University Church of St Mary the Virgin The University Church of St Mary the Virgin (St Mary's or SMV for short) is an Oxford church situated on the north side of the High Street. It is the centre from which the University of Oxford grew and its parish consists almost exclusively of u ...

Barnet, however, did not attend the ceremony, having decided against converting; he left Oxford on foot. According to the 17th-century Oxford antiquarian Anthony Wood, Arthur Lake, the Warden of New College, Oxford, sent pursuers after Barnet on foot and on horseback; Lake was one of the "learned Doctors" of the university whom Wood said had been "deceived" by Barnet's "tricks". Barnet was apprehended and taken back to Oxford, where he refused to be baptised. He was then detained in the unpleasant conditions of the Bocardo Prison. In the meantime,

William Twisse William Twisse (1578 near Newbury, England – 20 July 1646) was a prominent English clergyman and theologian. He was named Prolocutor of the Westminster Assembly in an Ordinance dated 12 June 1643, putting him at the head of the churchmen o ...

, who was to preach at the service, changed his sermon to address Barnet's change of heart, demonstrating (according to Wood) "God's just judgment upon that perverse nation and people, whom he had given up to a reprobate sense even to this very day."

Aftermath

Casaubon was appalled by the treatment of Barnet and considered it a "violation of Christian ethics". He later said that he did not think that changing one's mind on such a matter of religion was a criminal matter. He appealed on Barnet's behalf to

King James I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

, who issued a warrant for his release. Some months after his arrest, he was put on a ship to France and exiled. Later, Barnet was an adviser at the French court on Jewish matters.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite web, title=The strange story of Jacob Barnet, author = Marcus Roberts , url = http://www.jtrails.org.uk/trails/Oxford/stories/c-230/the-strange-story-of-jacob-barnet/, access-date=2010-04-28 {{cite book, title=The history and antiquities of the University of Oxford, Volume 2, Part 1, year=2006, author=

Anthony à Wood Anthony Wood (17 December 1632 – 28 November 1695), who styled himself Anthony à Wood in his later writings, was an English antiquary. He was responsible for a celebrated ''Hist. and Antiq. of the Universitie of Oxon''. Early life Anthony W ...

, John Gutch, url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YuxEAAAAYAAJ&q=barnet, page = 316 {{cite web, title=A Sketch Map of a Lost Continent: The Republic of Letters, author = Anthony Grafton, url = http://arcade.stanford.edu/journals/rofl/articles/sketch-map-lost-continent-republic-letters-by-anthony-grafton, access-date=2010-04-28 1612 in England History of the University of Oxford Antisemitism in England Religion in Oxford Christianity in Oxford Baptism Conversion of Jews to Christianity